


Ink Blue

by AceLucky



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alcohol, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Comfort, Drinking & Talking, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Memories, Reminiscing, Sibling Bonding, Sibling teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 21:09:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21083141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceLucky/pseuds/AceLucky
Summary: After his museum is destroyed, Taneleer spends some time reflecting on his life, the purpose of the museum and his wife. En Dwi arrives to offer unexpected comfort to his brother.





	Ink Blue

**Author's Note:**

> I basically started writing about Taneleer after the events in Guardians of the Galaxy, it was only meant to be a short drabble but ended up being quite a bit longer. This is set in the MCU but does reference Matani etc. and things that are covered in comics not mcu. Carina is in this but it’s Carina as in his daughter, not Carina in gotg. I made it pretty sad in places I guess? Anyway I love these two and writing about them.

The Collector could be a man of few words, that was when it suited him. When talking of the things he loved, that was when all the colour and stars in the Universe belonged to him and in a fashion poured from his soul. Except for her, he didn’t talk about her.

He sat head in hands, one hand loosely gripping the glass that had held his martini. Only a mouthful and two olives remained. A small piece of joy in the aftermath of such tragedy. The smell of burning and destruction still purveyed the air. What a tragic waste he thought.

Those were the only thoughts he was capable of having right now, too great was the loss he had suffered. Too immense was the pain he was in and the sorrow that hung now like a great stone round his neck. Too tired to cry, he sat up and straightened then arched his back. Trying to find some relief from the pain he was in. 

Taneleer turned to Cosmo who was sniffing into his master’s lap. Usually he would have shooed him away, but whilst he wouldn’t admit it, he was momentarily grateful for the companion. As Cosmo licked his face he heard Howard shout something about it being disgusting, Taneleer chose to ignore this comment and allowed Cosmo to continue licking him. When he finished Taneleer thought about wiping his face, but didn’t see the point. Then he realised, that was how he would lose himself, he would stop caring about the things he had once made him who he was. He couldn’t allow his appearance to falter, not now. 

He stood up and looked around his museum, trying to get some idea of the scale of destruction, though he didn’t need a survey to tell him that. There were some items that had been saved, some of the containment units were in tact, some with cracks but nothing that couldn’t be repaired. By some miracle, one of his favourite items in the collection, which was also his first had been saved.

He walked slowly over to it with a slight limp, no care for his own injuries, they would soon be mended, no matter. He placed a hand on the glass dome and then another hand. How had his need, his want, his obsession with the infinity stones allowed him to turn away from his true path? To forget about what truly mattered. Inside the dome was a flower, ornate in design, the palette that of dusk, inky blues and purple hues, black tips to the leaves. Matani had loved this species of flower, the planet they came from was long gone but she had stolen a few seeds of her own. 

Matani and Taneleer had had much in common, before he became who he was now, she had a collection of her own, a beautiful well-preserved garden full of various species of flowers and plants. She tended to it with much love and care and he could easily spend hours just sat feeling content as he watched her. 

He had been given a second chance, but she had passed on again due to the curse that was Apathy. When their daughter Carina too died, he had felt there was nothing left. Grief, something he had lived through for thousands of years, he had grown tired of it, of the word, the feeling. His museum kept him distracted, it wasn’t just a purpose for him, it wasn’t just because he wanted to preserve beautiful things it was so he could fill the silence, the void that was left by his love. His passion for his work had grown so that there was no room left for grief, not anymore.

But now with the scent of burning heavy on his nostrils he felt that familiar sting, guilt biting at his ankles like a work dog. His palms lay across the glass dome, oh how he could have picked it up, thrown it across the room so it shattered into a thousand pieces. The anger that surged through his veins could have crushed it, destroyed the last thing he had of her. Instead something happened that had not in a long time, a tear fell from his damp eyes and splashed on the concave surface. 

Just then he heard a familiar voice, though somewhat distorted and let out an irritated sigh. That was all he needed.

“Brother!” En Dwi Gast walked up next to him. 

Taneleer looked up, practically hissed, “Don’t say a word.”

“About what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

It was that smile, the smile that En Dwi was wearing now, that was the smile Taneleer hated the most. He didn’t have to say anything aloud, his ridiculous expression, smug, smirking, that was the expression he hated. 

“You’re infuriating you know that.” Taneleer stepped away from the flower and sat down on a crate.

En Dwi sat down next to him, “I know,” he still wore the same smirk from before. 

“What do you want?” Taneleer’s voice was strained, exhausted even. 

En Dwi looked around the wreckage of his brother’s collection before looking across at Taneleer. With some small amount of trepidation he placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder who immediately recoiled from him, “Don’t push your luck,” Taneleer threatened. 

En Dwi chuckled, “Fine little brother, I came because I heard what happened, thought you could do with some help or at least someone to cheer you up.”

Taneleer sneered, “And you thought that you were capable of that?”

En Dwi clasped at his chest, “Oh that hurts brother!”

He paused for a moment before reaching into his robe and pulling out a bright blue bottle of liquid, “Look, I even brought your favourite drink with me.”

Now Taneleer who was often so good at concealing his emotions, found it difficult not to smile and let out a slightly content sigh. En Dwi was right, it was one of his favourite libations. 

He watched his brother pour the blue liquid, admired the way he moved the glass so it swirled round the outside, almost spilling over the rim but pooling perfectly at the bottom of the glass. The liquid was inviting, like a lagoon that Taneleer would have loved nothing more to jump into and forget the feeling of living. 

Elders could sleep for a long time in a state of transcendence amongst the stars, he had done that for too long after his wife died. But there had to be more to this, more to his life than simply collecting relics from the past. 

En Dwi poured himself a generous glass that matched his brothers. Then in Terran tradition they clinked their glasses together, “Cheers.”

Taneleer looked unimpressed, “And what exactly are we toasting?” His tone sarcastic as he looked around his fallen Kingdom.

“To salvaging what we can.”

“Ahh yes, well your planet is practically a rubbish trip so.”

En Dwi cut him off, “Now brother, I’ve come all this way to see how you are and that is how you repay me?”

“So you didn’t come to gloat?”

“Not entirely.”

Taneleer smirked, “I would expect nothing less of you.”

As they drank the world seemed smaller to Taneleer, seemed to shrink from what he knew or thought he knew. Millions of particles littered the air, star dust in it’s infancy, colours that were yet to be named, swirls of patterns that danced. It was by far the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

He slid off the crate and sat on the floor for a moment before stretching out and laying back slowly. Taneleer wasn’t sure how many colours there were in the Universe, but as the wine went creeping to his head, he was certain he could see them all.

En Dwi lay down by his side, by all accounts this should have been uncomfortable, yet thanks to the drink they found themselves at peace.

Taneleer’s breathing slowed and he watched his own chest rise and fall. When his lungs expanded, he was certain he could feel pain. A gap where she once was, his chest hadn’t felt so much like a rusty cage, heart rattling around inside back then. No matter how much he had in his collection it could never bring her back and fill the void that she had left.

Years and years, into infinity and it wouldn’t bring her back. The terrans say that time heals all. How little they know of the universe or even the world in which they inhabit. Taneleer’s concept of time was warped, yes, but her like the other Elders he had transcended far beyond any manmade concept.

“I suppose it was just a lot of stuff,” his words surprising himself.

“Think of all the joy putting it together brought you, now you can relive it.” En Dwi encouraged. 

Taneleer tried to force down the sneer he would have so willingly worn at those words, joy, was frankly a word that escaped, bemused and offended his ancient ears. It was a common word and the pleasure that he had found out there amongst the stars was nothing in comparison to such a plain word. Yet as he finished the glass he sought out the truth in his brother’s words, he had to have a purpose that much was clear, so yes, at some point he would salvage what he could and rebuild. Time of course, being no object.

“Although…” he said quietly as he drained his glass for the second time. 

En Dwi raised an eyebrow and looked across at Taneleer, the words he wanted to say were, “I’m waiting,” but he chose not to say them and listened instead.

“Matani…I’m not sure she’d have liked all my collection, certainly not taking souls and I….” His eyes misted over as he recalled her smile, the taste of her lips, her laughter at his childish naivety, “All these souls but none come close to hers.”

En Dwi cleared his throat, “I bought another drink with me, that you might like…. it was rather intended for your collection but alas I fear it may be better drinking it.”

En Dwi sat up and reached into his robes and the bottle he pulled out, oh the bottle he pulled out. Taneleer forgot how to breathe, rather he suddenly became conscious of the fact that breathing was something you did naturally without thought and yet here he was trying to figure it out, to put the pieces of his being together as he inhaled sharply. 

A weak arm stretched out and stopped short of the bottle. It was shaped like a rose and contained pink liquid. Once the drink was available in abundance but over the years had become far less popular to the point where it was never made. He hadn’t seen a bottle in thousands of years. 

The last time he tasted it, he could smell the nectar, taste the sweetness on his lips and oh Matani’s lips, they were the same colour. He was transported to a simpler time before he had such a need to collect trinkets. Had he really forgotten the true meaning behind his museum after all this time?

The drink was practically as old as time itself, well that’s how the terrans would see it, and it had been her favourite drink. They’d spent many nights wistfully dreaming of the future and their greater purpose, watching stars explode and nebula unfurl while drinking the bitter sweet nectar. Bitter sweet were exactly the words for it now, as he raised the glass to his lips, hands trembling as he titled the glass and started to drink. He could have gulped it all down for the moment of peace and pleasure it had given him. 

Instead he sipped slowly, forgetting that En Dwi was in his presence and concentrated his energy on thinking of her and happier days. Yes. Matani would be angry, ashamed maybe, but she would have comforted him all the same with her warm embrace. Her hands gently stroking his head and pulling him close into her breast so that he knew he was safe. They had swirled together, dancing round great ball rooms of their own making with no one but themselves. 

He had spun her round so many times that she felt dizzy and they’d laughed together as they often did as she fell onto the floor, pulling him down with her. And when he had laid on her he would rest his head on her chest and listen to the steady beating of her heart. She smelt of roses and the birth of existence. Sometimes he would find himself staring into her eyes and feeling that what he found in there was far more beautiful than anything in the universe.

He had promised to keep her safe, but he couldn’t save her from herself just like he was unable to save himself or his museum. 

En Dwi watched his brother with interest as he drank, the way his face twitched and eyes closed, he knew full well the memories that it would bring back to his brother. He had no need to gloat, rather for a moment he was glad to have brought something of far greater value than any material possession to him. 

“Thank you for bringing this to me brother,” Taneleer said at last as he emptied the glass. 

En Dwi held the bottle out, “Another?”  
Taneleer shook his head, “I am grateful do not misunderstand that, but not yet…I will save this for when I need it.”

Had En Dwi been in a crueler mood, or even a more playful one, he may have snatched the bottle away and hidden it from Taneleer. Yet his own mood had been soured by the sacking of Sakaar. Ahhh he had yet to tell his brother of this, yet there was something in Taneleer’s eyes that suggested he had already known.

As accustomed as they were to spending centuries apart and teasing or enraging one another when they did finally meet, neither felt it was the time and strangely felt comfortable, almost glad of one another’s company. 

Taneleer inhaled the scent from the glass and felt his eyes damped. He used his robe to mop them, he could not think on Matani anymore or all of the broken promises which had been made. There was no use sitting round feeling sorry for himself when he could be striding forward. 

“What now then brother?” Taneleer turned to En Dwi.

He lifted the bottle of blue liquid, “Perhaps another of these?”

Taneleer smiled, he could feel his lips curling upwards and wondered for a moment what was happening. Smiling was not something he was used to around his brother. 

Of course he had standards and a reputation to uphold, always wanting to appear the perfect gentlemen when greeting others. But much like the clothes he wore and his mannerisms, so much of it was an act, or at the very least exaggeration of himself. He had always been eccentric, yes, but this mask he wore, somewhere under it all the being Matani fell in love with was lost.

But when he smiled at his brother now, it was genuine because he felt it in his core. His hands tingled, warm, like they had centuries ago. 

“Perhaps a game?” Taneleer offered.

En Dwi laughed, “And we were getting on so well!”

Taneleer stood and offered a hand to his brother, “Besides, I heard you had some bad news yourself.”

En Dwi didn’t react as such, there was no anger flashing in his eyes like Taneleer had become accustomed to. Rather a sadness, something lost from his expression, a certain gleam once so prolific, now ceased to exist. 

Taneleer moved so he was stood in front of En Dwi, “This can’t be how it ends brother.”

En Dwi put his arm around Taneleer who for once did not flinch and instead pulled the other into a tight embrace, “No first I must beat you at chess!”

Taneleer couldn’t help but laugh as he pulled away and nodded silently, yes, they could both rebuild, this was not the end. But for today, today they would get drunk and play childish games as they once did when they were young.


End file.
